Decay
by firstdragonrider
Summary: "He felt her struggle to sit up again and helped her ease her way into a sitting position. Two sickly eyes rolled over his and she tried to smile. He wouldn't have told her so, but the sight of her could only be described as pitiful." Aidan/Sally Fluff Friendship Angst


_Everything is Being Human and everything hurts. I just. I don't even. *sobs in a corner* _

**Decay**

Aidan pressed his clasped fingers against his lips, dark eyes unmoving as they stared at the form of Kenny. The boy lay on his bed, slightly curled with shallow breathing and occasional twitching. Aidan listened to the changing heartbeat; how it slowed and occasionally stopped and then continued on stronger than ever. It was the sound of a changing body. Finally tearing himself away, he made his way up the stairs, realizing that he'd been sitting there for hours.

The entire house was dark, and the lazy clock in the living room told him that it was three in the morning. He took a moment to pause and just stand there in the silence. It all felt so normal. The house, the clock, the slight whir of the refrigerator, the sound of the creaking floor as Josh shifted in his sleep. It was so ordinary, and Aidan couldn't help but be filled with a sense of pride. They had done this. They had created something that they could call normal.

But then he heard another noise. It sounded like hacking, or like a dying animal, and his back stiffened when they were followed by a very human moan. Silently going up the stairs, he recognized the noises coming from Sally's room, and with gentle footsteps he made his way to her door and turned the handle. As soon as he peeked his head in, the sound returned and he could see that it was Sally coughing with such force that her entire body was convulsing. She was attempting to sit up to ease the pain from the coughs but her feeble arms refused to support her weight. Her entire face and upper body were covered with scabs and he could see her frail form trembling.

"Hey you're okay," he mumbled, swiftly taking his place beside her bed and putting a supporting hand on her arm. He felt her struggle to sit up again and helped her ease her way into a sitting position. Two sickly eyes rolled over his and she tried to smile. He wouldn't have told her so, but the sight of her could only be described as pitiful.

"Hey, my vamp buddy came to keep me company," she rasped, letting her lids slide shut over her eyes. He smiled softly, proud that she was still trying to keep up light banter in her current state.

"I heard your coughing," he clarified, noticing a glass of water on her bedside that he grabbed and offered to her. She smiled her thanks and tried to grasp the cup, but he knew that if he let go, it'd go spilling all over the bed. She wasn't strong enough. Changing positions so that he was instead sitting on the bedside, he carefully placed the glass at her lips and tipped it slowly to let her drink. He returned the glass to the bedside table when she was done and he felt her hand brush over his. Grabbing onto it lightly, he leaned over her legs and steadied himself with his other arm.

"Thanks," she mumbled, and Aidan knew that she was upset that she couldn't do such a mundane task as drinking by herself.

"That's what I'm here for."

"Playing nurse to the decaying corpse in your bedroom?" She smiled at her own statement and he smiled with her.

"That's exactly what I'm here for." Her eyes changed into something sadder and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"I'm so sorry that we never-" he cut her off with a quiet shush, letting his right hand move to trail along her face.

"Don't be sorry for anything," he said firmly, and she leaned her cheek into his palm.

"I just wish it could all be different," she whispered, once again shutting her eyes against the exhaustion and the realization of everything.

"Everyone always does," Aidan mused, flashes of his own life passing before him. "But you can't let that define who you are. Not in moments like this." She smiled at him, a genuine smile.

"Please stay?"

"Sally, I have Kenny, I ca-"

"Please?" He knew it was already a lost battle. He knew that she knew that as well. "For me, before I…" she hesitated, searching for the right word. "Kick the bucket." He let out a slight chuckle at this and she smiled again, patting the spot next to her on the bed. He sighed in resignation, letting go of her hand crossing over to the other side of her bed. Throwing off his shoes, he crawled up next to her, and she let him get comfortable before turning into him.

"Thank you," she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder and hugging him across the chest. He wound an arm around her to rest on her waist and ran the fingers of his other hand lightly across her arm.

"Go to sleep now, okay?" he requested, and his breath tickled the back of her head. She nodded against him and he dared to press a very light kiss to her head. "I'll be right here." If she had the strength to, she would have kissed him right there and then. She would have told him how he was the one keeping her alive. She would have told him how he had been one of the best parts of living. She would have told him that everything would be okay. But instead she just squeezed him a little tighter and listened to his rhythmic breathing until she felt her own fall into the same pattern.

With his hand tracing gentle circles on the small of her back and the other one holding her arm on his chest carefully, she slowly but surely drifted off to sleep. He watched her fall into unconsciousness and noticed the slight whine of her lungs and her struggling heart. It tore him apart to know that he had found a solution to his own misery, but she was still dying in his arms. But he knew that she would go back to being a ghost, and he knew that they could all figure this out eventually. That's what they did, wasn't it? They figured things out. Even if it didn't seem alright in the end.


End file.
